To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

The QC, Vol. 88, No. 15 • January 31, 2002

2002_01_31_001

The Voice Of Whittier College Since 1914
January 31,2002
QUAKER CAMPUS
littpj//wet^whittiei^du/qc
Bad equipment
triggers alarms
Fourteen false alarms in
three weeks plague
residence halls while no
actual fire was reported.
The College is investigating
the matter.
by Eva Sevcikova
QC News Editor
The sound of a shrieking fire
alarm has filled the hallways and
rooms of residence halls fourteen
times during the month of January;
each time buildings full of people
were evacuated. While the College
is increasing efforts to catch unknown students allegedly causing
false fire alarms, according to the
statistics provided by Asst. Chief
of Campus Safety John Lewis, only
two out of the 14 incidents were
related to fire alarm tampering.
Other reasons included mostly ac
tivated or bad smoke detectors.
Both reported incidents of tampering with fire equipment occurred in Turner Residence Hall.
On four other unrelated occasions
of a fire alarm in Turner, the causes
reported by Campus Safety were
of a different nature—burned popcorn, an activated smoke detector
(twice) and a bad detector, according to the incident history report
provided by Lewis. In no case was
there actual fire. Throughout the
first three weeks of Jan Term the
average number of evacuations in
Turner Hall has been two per week.
Executive Director of Human
Resources Jan Merideth could not
comment _fully on? the extent to
which the College is working on
resolving issues of false fire alarms.
According to Merideth, in respect
to the pulled fire alarms, the College is trying several things to catch
the culprit(s) and is working with
the Los Angeles County Fire De-
See FIRE, page 6
Something is happening: The physical construction on the library renovation project
began on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Temporary quarters of the library, called modulars, are
being installed in the Harris Amphitheater parking lot, blocking off all the parking. More
parking is available across the street near the Speech and Hearing Clinic. Maintenance
expects the modulars to be finished by the end of February. According to Head of
Maintenance Steve Yoakem, there was a delay to make sure that there was a path cleared
for the buildings.
Campus illness caused by widesprea*
virus; precautions are still necessary
Similar symptoms are common in other parts of nation and world
by Eva Sevcikova
QC News Editor
A virus called the Norwalk-Like
virus, the most common cause of
epidemic non-bacterial gastroenteritis in the United States, was determined to be the cause of the widespread illness affecting approximately 30 members of the Whittier Col-
T.Y.I.
The classes for the spring 2002
semester will begin on Thursday, Feb. 7.TheC.I. willbeopen
for brunch and dinner from Monday, Feb.4 until Wednesday, Feb.
6. The Quaker Campus will be
published again on Thursday,
Feb. 14.
lege community, including 11 members of the basketball team during
the second week of January. While
no new cases have been reported
recently, Director of Student Health
Services Colleen Leidy, R.N. advises caution.
According to Dean of Students
Dave Leonard, who was heading the
investigation, the Los Angeles Department of the Communicable Diseases Control Unit (C.D.C.U.) informed him that symptoms people at
Whittier College experienced were
identical with the symptoms of a
common disease called the Norwalk-
Like Virus (N.L.V.). The intestinal
virus is named for Norwalk, Ohio,
where researchers first identified it
in 1968. It causes nausea, stomach
cramps, vomiting and diarrhea and
is sometimes also accompanied by
headache and low-grade fever.
Throughoutthe investigation, the
campus dining facilities and the air-
conditioning and heating system at
the Athletics Center were gradually
ruled out as causes of
the illness [see related ^^^^^
front page story Issue
14, Volume 88]. Simultaneously, the investigation continued with testing of water. Since the
regular tests the City of
Whittier conducts on all
water in Whittier revealed nothing out of the
ordinary in the week the
illness broke out, Le-
onard invited the City of
Whittier's Water Department to do
on-campus water testing.
"We thought it would be prudent to check the water supplied
directly to the Athletics Center,"
Leonard said. The results of the tests
were available approximately a week
after the outbreak. "No bacteria or
contaminants were found," Leonard
"No negligence was proven on behalf of the
College. Unfortunately, we won't be able to
pick up the health bills. Had the College
been directly responsible for negligence,
that would be a different story. I do feel bad
for the students; it was a horrible disease."
Dave Leonard
Dean of Students
said.
Leidy noted that the number of
reported cases has slowed down
significantly in the last week or so.
"While this past week we had no
body come in to see us, there are
probably more cases than we know
about, because people may choose
to be silent about it and handle the
illness in their rooms,"
^^^^^ she said.
In fact, not only students and staff have
fallen ill in the past
weeks, but according to
Leonard, the virus
spread quickly and affected also friends and
relatives of some Whittier College staff members, in one case more
than once. "This week,
however, no new cases
were reported to my office," Leonard said.
Although it may seem that the
See ILLNESS, page 5
ISSUE 15 • VOLUME 88
Letters, letters
Our editorial last week
generated several
responses.
Opinions, Page 3
Hold your breath!
Sins and stars: Witness the
aftermath of convocation, tattoos
and Casino Night.
Campus Life, Page 8
Iced MOCA
We continue our exploration
of museums throughout Los
Angeles.
A & E, Page 10
Swim team gets wet
If they didn't wear Speedos, it
would be more fun to watch. Or
maybe not. Baseball preview,
basketball, and good times....
Sports, Page 14

The Voice Of Whittier College Since 1914
January 31,2002
QUAKER CAMPUS
littpj//wet^whittiei^du/qc
Bad equipment
triggers alarms
Fourteen false alarms in
three weeks plague
residence halls while no
actual fire was reported.
The College is investigating
the matter.
by Eva Sevcikova
QC News Editor
The sound of a shrieking fire
alarm has filled the hallways and
rooms of residence halls fourteen
times during the month of January;
each time buildings full of people
were evacuated. While the College
is increasing efforts to catch unknown students allegedly causing
false fire alarms, according to the
statistics provided by Asst. Chief
of Campus Safety John Lewis, only
two out of the 14 incidents were
related to fire alarm tampering.
Other reasons included mostly ac
tivated or bad smoke detectors.
Both reported incidents of tampering with fire equipment occurred in Turner Residence Hall.
On four other unrelated occasions
of a fire alarm in Turner, the causes
reported by Campus Safety were
of a different nature—burned popcorn, an activated smoke detector
(twice) and a bad detector, according to the incident history report
provided by Lewis. In no case was
there actual fire. Throughout the
first three weeks of Jan Term the
average number of evacuations in
Turner Hall has been two per week.
Executive Director of Human
Resources Jan Merideth could not
comment _fully on? the extent to
which the College is working on
resolving issues of false fire alarms.
According to Merideth, in respect
to the pulled fire alarms, the College is trying several things to catch
the culprit(s) and is working with
the Los Angeles County Fire De-
See FIRE, page 6
Something is happening: The physical construction on the library renovation project
began on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Temporary quarters of the library, called modulars, are
being installed in the Harris Amphitheater parking lot, blocking off all the parking. More
parking is available across the street near the Speech and Hearing Clinic. Maintenance
expects the modulars to be finished by the end of February. According to Head of
Maintenance Steve Yoakem, there was a delay to make sure that there was a path cleared
for the buildings.
Campus illness caused by widesprea*
virus; precautions are still necessary
Similar symptoms are common in other parts of nation and world
by Eva Sevcikova
QC News Editor
A virus called the Norwalk-Like
virus, the most common cause of
epidemic non-bacterial gastroenteritis in the United States, was determined to be the cause of the widespread illness affecting approximately 30 members of the Whittier Col-
T.Y.I.
The classes for the spring 2002
semester will begin on Thursday, Feb. 7.TheC.I. willbeopen
for brunch and dinner from Monday, Feb.4 until Wednesday, Feb.
6. The Quaker Campus will be
published again on Thursday,
Feb. 14.
lege community, including 11 members of the basketball team during
the second week of January. While
no new cases have been reported
recently, Director of Student Health
Services Colleen Leidy, R.N. advises caution.
According to Dean of Students
Dave Leonard, who was heading the
investigation, the Los Angeles Department of the Communicable Diseases Control Unit (C.D.C.U.) informed him that symptoms people at
Whittier College experienced were
identical with the symptoms of a
common disease called the Norwalk-
Like Virus (N.L.V.). The intestinal
virus is named for Norwalk, Ohio,
where researchers first identified it
in 1968. It causes nausea, stomach
cramps, vomiting and diarrhea and
is sometimes also accompanied by
headache and low-grade fever.
Throughoutthe investigation, the
campus dining facilities and the air-
conditioning and heating system at
the Athletics Center were gradually
ruled out as causes of
the illness [see related ^^^^^
front page story Issue
14, Volume 88]. Simultaneously, the investigation continued with testing of water. Since the
regular tests the City of
Whittier conducts on all
water in Whittier revealed nothing out of the
ordinary in the week the
illness broke out, Le-
onard invited the City of
Whittier's Water Department to do
on-campus water testing.
"We thought it would be prudent to check the water supplied
directly to the Athletics Center,"
Leonard said. The results of the tests
were available approximately a week
after the outbreak. "No bacteria or
contaminants were found," Leonard
"No negligence was proven on behalf of the
College. Unfortunately, we won't be able to
pick up the health bills. Had the College
been directly responsible for negligence,
that would be a different story. I do feel bad
for the students; it was a horrible disease."
Dave Leonard
Dean of Students
said.
Leidy noted that the number of
reported cases has slowed down
significantly in the last week or so.
"While this past week we had no
body come in to see us, there are
probably more cases than we know
about, because people may choose
to be silent about it and handle the
illness in their rooms,"
^^^^^ she said.
In fact, not only students and staff have
fallen ill in the past
weeks, but according to
Leonard, the virus
spread quickly and affected also friends and
relatives of some Whittier College staff members, in one case more
than once. "This week,
however, no new cases
were reported to my office," Leonard said.
Although it may seem that the
See ILLNESS, page 5
ISSUE 15 • VOLUME 88
Letters, letters
Our editorial last week
generated several
responses.
Opinions, Page 3
Hold your breath!
Sins and stars: Witness the
aftermath of convocation, tattoos
and Casino Night.
Campus Life, Page 8
Iced MOCA
We continue our exploration
of museums throughout Los
Angeles.
A & E, Page 10
Swim team gets wet
If they didn't wear Speedos, it
would be more fun to watch. Or
maybe not. Baseball preview,
basketball, and good times....
Sports, Page 14